The present invention relates to systems for handling batteries of a ground transport vehicle, in particular of a heavy-duty automated guided vehicle for ISO-containers with a receiving area for a replaceable battery.
German patent DE 42 03 778 C2 discloses an automated ground vehicle having a manipulator disposed thereon. By means of the ground vehicle the manipulator can be moved automatically between different work stations, in order to perform assembly tasks at these locations. The ground vehicle is driven via a replaceable nickel-cadmium battery. The battery can be replaced automatically at a changing station if it has to be recharged. For this purpose, a vehicle frame of the ground vehicle is provided with a battery space, in which there are disposed guide rails which are oriented transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the ground vehicle. The underside of the battery is provided with rollers which roll in the guide rails. In order to prevent the battery from moving along the guide rails during operation of the ground vehicle, the vehicle frame is provided with a pin which is pretensioned in a resilient manner in the direction of the battery and engages into a recess in the battery during operation of the ground vehicle. In order to change the battery, the pin can be lowered hydraulically. The battery thus released can be pulled out of the vehicle frame along the guide rails by means of a changing apparatus. For the purpose of the changing operation, the ground vehicle travels automatically to a changing station. After the battery has been unlocked, a gripping device travels starting from the changing station in the direction of the battery and at that location grips a projection disposed on the outside of the battery. The gripping device then pulls the battery out of the ground vehicle and the rollers of the battery leave the guide rails of the ground vehicle and move onto travel rails of the changing station which are disposed as an extension of the guide rails. In the region of the changing station the battery is then automatically contacted and charged. The above-described first changing station is disposed opposite a second changing station, from which a reserve battery, already charged there, is pushed into the battery space from the other side. The changing time is therefore shortened so that the vehicle can be operated almost continuously with only one reserve battery.
Furthermore, German patent application DE 10 2007 039 778 A1 already discloses a heavy-duty automated guided ground vehicle for ISO-containers. The heavy-duty transport vehicle comprises a vehicle frame, on which at least one lifting platform is disposed, which can be lifted from a lowered transport position to a raised transfer position or, conversely, lowered from one to the other via at least one lifting drive. Typically, such heavy-duty transport vehicles are driven by a diesel engine.
Furthermore, from the Japanese laid-open document JP 05 294 147 A there is already known a system for changing a battery of a ground transport vehicle. Apart from the ground transport vehicles with replaceable batteries, the system includes storage areas disposed within a shelf unit for batteries to be recharged. The batteries are transported between the ground transport vehicles and the storage areas of an automated loading and unloading device. Within the transport vehicles and the shelf units the batteries are automatically coupled and uncoupled electrically.